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Overview

Before Carrie Bradshaw hit the big time in the City, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation?

The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends -- Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse -- are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets. And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy-older, intriguing, and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it's finally time to go after everything she ever wanted.

Rabid fans of Sex and the City will love seeing Carrie Bradshaw evolve from a regular girl into a sharp, insightful writer. They'll learn about her family background -- how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. We'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where the next Carrie Diaries book will take place.

About the Author

Candace Bushnell is the critically acclaimed bestselling author of The Carrie Diaries, Sex and The City, Lipstick Jungle, One Fifth Avenue, 4 Blondes, and Trading Up, which have sold millions of copies. Sex and The City was the basis for the HBO hit show and films of the same name. Lipstick Jungle became a popular television show on NBC. Candace lives in New York City.

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Candace Bushnell

Editorial Reviews

It would have been easy to write a coming-of-age story about Carrie Bradshaw that ham-fistedly foreshadows everything fans of the franchise know will come to pass. But Bushnell nails something harder: telling another chapter in the story of a cherished character that stands on its own.

Entertainment Weekly

An addictive, ingenious origin story.

Los Angeles Times

Fans will love this.

Booklist

Teens and adults looking for a light summer read will enjoy Carrie's witty reflections on high school and "The Big Love."The Washington Post

Mary Quattlebaum

This polished prequel to Sex and the City reveals the ample drama that filled Carrie Bradshaw’s life before her move to Manhattan. With wit and insight, Carrie chronicles her emotionally charged senior year at a small Connecticut high school. While her friends’ lives seem to be falling into place—especially on the dating and sex fronts—Carrie has just been rejected by a summer writing seminar in New York City, and laments, “I have nothing figured out at all.” She falls hard for a slick underachiever who eventually leaves her for one of her best friends, while her widower father grapples with single parenthood, made tougher by Carrie’s rebellious youngest sister’s antics. Readers should be amused by some of the period details (Carrie’s 18-year-old friends can drink legally), though they don’t weigh heavily on the story, making the early 1980s setting feel almost incidental. Similarly, there’s little that shouts, “This is the Carrie Bradshaw you know and love,” as opposed to any other thoughtful teenager slowly coming into her own. But readers should enjoy witnessing Carrie’s burgeoning independence and confidence as a writer. Ages 14-up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up—In the 1980s, Carrie Bradshaw is the oldest of three girls who live with their widowed father. She is on the swim team, wants to attend a summer writing program in New York, has applied to Brown, and is the last of her girlfriends to still have her virginity. When the rakish Sebastian Kydd returns to town, all the girls in the school become distracted, but he seems to have his eye on Carrie, at least until her best friend begins to take notice of him. The action is lightweight: senior pranks are played, dates are prevalent, friendships are tested, and Carrie keeps letting boys run rampant over her. It takes most of the book for her to stand up for herself. This protagonist is clearly written to resemble her older self as portrayed in the TV series Sex and the City. She spends the novel questioning relationships; worrying about friendships; developing a funky, independent sense of fashion; flirting with boys while dating two at once; and having a gay male friend. The author is known for writing frivolous, adult chick-lit books and she does not stray from that style here. While toning down the antics that take place in her adult books, she still writes about partying, drinking, smoking (cigarettes and dope), sex, and shoplifting, making this book best suited to older teens looking for a diversion.—Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT

School Library Journal

Before she made a name for herself as a New York City sex columnist, Carrie Bradshaw lived in a small Connecticut town and navigated the perils of high school, the events of which she narrates here in the present tense. She dates the new bad boy, Sebastian Kydd, but his reputation as the school Lothario drives a wedge between Carrie and her best friend. At home with her father and two younger sisters, Carrie mourns her dead mother, a declared feminist with a passion for fashion. Whether she faces the wrath of the most popular girl in school or the decision to have sex with Sebastian, Carrie handles her stumbles with courage and wit. Academically, she's got Ivy League brains and a talent for math, but her dream is to become a writer, and thus does Bushnell set up Carrie's future. Teen fans of Sex and the City will easily recognize the Carrie they already know and love, but this book can stand alone. Yes, the sex, drugs and drinking will titillate, but Carrie's sharp observations of her peers and human relationships give the book smart, sassy intellectual power. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

It's time to meet Carrie. Before there was Carrie Bradshaw with Sex and the City, there was only Carrie, nicknamed Bradley by her friends, from Castlebury, Connecticut. The Carrie Diaries, a prequel to Candace Bushnell's book Sex and the City, and to which the TV series is based on, introduces Carrie and shows how she was sculpted into the woman she became.
The first Sex and the City book was published in 1997 and was scripted into a HBO TV series of the same name in 1998 and lasting through 2004. Sarah Jessica Parker starred as Carrie in the series and reprised her role in the movies as well.
The book tracks Carrie's senior year in high school, along with details about her family life, her friends, and her experiences with the good, sweet guys, and bad, toxic guys. Fans of Sex and the City will be familiar with the Carrie they have come to know. Her fashion statements began at a young age while wearing red Mary Jane shoes to kindergarten, and only have progressed even more entering a life of adulthood with her thrifty white go-go boots, and her sassy, yet youthful attitude has not changed a bit.
Aimed mostly at teens, and true Sex and the City fans, the whirlwind of high school and all its drama is presented in a way that everyone can relate to. Breakups and makeups, secrets hidden by friends, family trouble, and always that one popular girl who makes your life hell, is what Carrie, her friends and family go through in one single year.
Though all the drama, which makes you actually think you are reliving your high school year, Carrie knows what she wants to be in life and goes after it. Amid her and her friends smoking behind the school, or taking shots down at the local bar, she does everything in her power to get it, but the question is if it all pays off or not.
With an ending that will keep you captivated waiting for the second installment of this book set to come out next summer, this book shapes a popular character and a better understanding on her adolescent lifestyle. Fans alike will never want to put this book down.

Leah-books

More than 1 year ago

Talented writer. Great story line. Enjoyed this book!

Dolly80

More than 1 year ago

I find it strange that anyone would comment negatively about an author's character. Carrie from The Carrie Diaries is one of the most kick-ass literary female characters I've read since The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She's quick as a whip, funny as hell and doesn't take any flack from anyone. The way Candace has written the true Carrie makes me love the TV version of her even more. Candace shows you what it took to get where Carrie is when we meet her in the show - finally someone spells it out that you don't just arrive in NYC and move into some fabulous apartment and start writing for Vogue. That's the dream and you have to work hard to get there and bring your experiences that shaped you with you -- that's what matters. I love the new characters. And I love feeling like a teenager again through this book - all the wonder about what's going to happen next. I can't wait to read the next one!!!

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

For all of those who are expecting this book to be an exact prequel to the Carrie you know from the Sex and the City series...please remember, Carrie was, is and will always be Candace's character. The little details they dropped about her prior history were by other writers for the show.
The book is an engaging look at how a young girl finds her way through that last year of high school. It has a bit of nostalgia for all the 80's grads, all the drama of young love, the banter of close friends and enemies, and the excitement and fear about the future. One can be a fan of this book and the series.

delilah93

More than 1 year ago

I liked this book. it wasn't the best book i read but it wasn't the worst. overall it was a good book that im happy i read. It will be easy for young girls to relate to this book. and yes there is a twist at the ending which most people will prbaly expect. i do think the book is a little predictable but still a really good book. PLEASE READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE YOU BUY THE BOOK ! It seems most people who buy the book are big sex and the city fans and there expecting carrie Bradshaw to be exactly the one they know. that is not the case. I like sex and the city but haven't really followed it so the character difference isn't really that much of a problem for me. And to the people who said they wish Candace would have watched the show before she wrote this book: Candace is the one WHO INVENTED carrie bradshaw. the show copied her character and put there own twist on it. so she had every write to change what she wants about carrie.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Really awesome book

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

This does not seem like the same Carrie from Sex and the City or the show the carrie diaries. Its good but feels like a whole different story.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Best book ever realy worth your money have it on nook and real book

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

The book was okay but the televison series is a lot better!!!! The televison series has a lot more depth with the characters than the book! I bought it because i thought it would be like the show, but its not. And its a lot slower than the tv series

longfellowsevangeline

More than 1 year ago

i was hoping for a little more cross over, maybe carrie starting out in NYC meeting her pals, ect, instead, it was a whiny high school novel, and carrie was "in love" with an emotionally abusive boy. i found it difficult to read and totally unlikeable.

haae

More than 1 year ago

I know I should have read the summary before I purchased this book. but I trusted the author so i bought it without knowing that it was about a hightschool kid. I'm almost 30 and I don't care about highschool drama. so i was a little disappointed

VegasMemories09

More than 1 year ago

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were witty and qorky and I totally could picture Sarah Jessica Parker playing the Carrie in High School that Candace portrayed. The ending was awesome! I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE SECOND SERIES! HURRY UP! I had to read it fast, I couldn't wait for the next issue/drama/fun!

Fancygrl68

More than 1 year ago

I couldn't finish it. Maybe it gets better, but there's only so much angst I can deal with.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I want ti read this book soooo bad. But i cant bc i lost my password to the free books.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

To all you who are stupid unlike like me . These little kids writing they phone number and writing about sex on here you got to learn thats there crazy people in this world and rapists in this world im not trying to sound like ur parents but protect ur body young boys and girls. Im not to sound like im perfect but take ur body ur body yours if you dont take care of it nobody will. God bless you and tha u enjoy the days in your life.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

JKW24

More than 1 year ago

There is no way not to like this YA novel. Ms. Bushnell understands relationships between teens, high school experiences and the heartache of losing a mother within a family too early. The whole family plays an important part in the novel too. Most of the book reflects the emotions of the girls, but the boys play important roles to their happiness and misery. The key is to realize that this is the senior year and it won&rsquo;t last forever. Yeah, Right! The growing up process and the realization of who we are and how we become breaks forth whether we like it or not. In the ever changing high school setting, the strong survive. Each character has their own defining personality and their interactions are excellent. This is a great read in this genre.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

....so what were we talking about?

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Love it

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I was never a big fan of Sex and the City. It wasn't something that ever held my attention, though I have seen many episodes, reruns on tv late at night, and the movies, thanks to my mom (who fangirled over them a little). I wasn't even interested in reading The Carrie Diaries when it first came out a few years ago, but somehow I ended up hooked on the TV show that premiered on the CW a little while ago, and thought I'd give the books a chance. So I picked up a copy of The Carrie Diares at B&amp;N last weekend.
I figured since I loved the TV show, I would most likely love the book even more. I was wrong. The show was so different, and by different, I mean better. Or rather, I just liked the show better. I suppose if I hadn't seen the show before reading the book, I would have enjoyed the book more, but I was so frustrated with the characters being so different that it nearly ruined the book for me.
It the show, Carrie is a bit... stronger, I guess. She was more confident in her writing abilities, her life, and was more put together. She wasn't as wild and immature, but in the book she was very immature. It was like I was reading about a completely different character, and I longed to read about the Carrie I saw in the show. Also, in the show, the main love interest, Sebastian, is awesome. Sure, he's a bit too confident and has that 'bad' thing going for him, but he's NICE. In the book, he's a jerk. Honestly, Sebastian was just awful. I could not bring myself to like him one bit and I kept waiting for him do something redeemable, but he just seemed to get worse.
I feel terrible because most of my problems with the book are because I kept comparing the book to the show. As for the book itself, it was full of drama: girls fighting over boys, friends being crappy to each other, and things of that sort, which I didn't love, but it was entertaining. Carrie did grow throughout the book, so I'm hoping she'll be more like the character I thought she'd be in the sequel, which I ordered online from B&amp;N two days ago.
Anyway, if you're looking for something mature, and not filled to the rim with drama, this isn't the book for you. However, if you want to read something a bit silly, dramatic, and fun, I'd recommend you read The Carrie Diaries. If you're a fan of the show, keep in mind that the books are a bit different.
Reviewed by Strung Out On Books

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Absolutely loved this book. Couldn't get enough.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I thini am took

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

The carrie diaries is an addicting show. Friday is now my favorite day!